PFI LogisticsHub
Case Study
Products For Industry (PFI) – Digitizing Shipment Requests and Internal Activities
We partnered with Products For Industry (PFI), a Brisbane-based engineering firm, to streamline their internal logistics and activity management through a suite of custom .NET-based applications. Our work included the development of a web-based shipment request platform, creation of unit tests to ensure application reliability, and the deployment of a Windows-based WPF application to manage internal activities. This project modernized their communication process and reduced manual workload across departments.
The Vision
PFI needed to automate and centralize their manual shipment request process and internal activity tracking. The vision was to replace email and message-based communication with streamlined, easy-to-use digital platforms. Additionally, the solution had to be locally hosted, leverage fake/test data for initial testing, and be developed using .NET Core technologies, while following Agile methodology.
Scenario
From Manual Requests to a Unified Digital Workflow
PFI employees were manually reaching out to the logistics team via emails, messaging apps, or in-person conversations to request shipments-resulting in inefficiencies, lost details, and inconsistent records. Similarly, internal tasks were tracked through informal team messages, leading to poor visibility and accountability.
A web-based shipment request application built with ASP.NET Core MVC.
A WPF desktop application for tracking internal activities.
A full suite of unit tests to validate application functionality.
Integration with GitHub for version control.
A development approach aligned with Agile best practices.
What we did
Delivering Web and Desktop Solutions Tailored to Internal Needs
ASP.NET Core MVC Web Application – “Ship It App” : Built using .NET Core 8 and Visual Studio 2022, the Ship It App streamlined how employees submit shipment requests. Forms were created based on PDFs shared by the client and structured for simplicity and accuracy.
Test Data Integration : To facilitate development and testing, we connected the application to a local “test” project built in .NET Standard 2.0, allowing developers to use mock data before production deployment.
Agile Collaboration and DevOps Integration : We followed Agile methodology, conducted sprint-based development, and used GitHub and Microsoft Teams for seamless collaboration and version control.
Unit Test Development with NUnit : We implemented NUnit testing to ensure critical web functionalities worked as expected. The test suite was integrated into GitHub and included for CI pipelines to validate every new commit.
WPF Application for Internal Activity Management : Using MVVM architecture, we developed a Windows-based WPF application tailored for internal use cases. The app enables employees to log, track, and update tasks efficiently with a clean, intuitive UI.
Key features of the experience
The Impact
PFI experienced significant gains in efficiency and communication clarity
By developing custom web and desktop applications tailored to their internal workflows, PFI successfully replaced fragmented, manual processes with a digitized system. Our use of .NET Core, WPF, Agile methodology, and rigorous unit testing enabled PFI to enhance productivity, improve internal communication, and future-proof their operations.
Centralized Shipment Request Handling
Reduced reliance on emails and chat tools for logistics by introducing a single, streamlined workflow.
Reliable Application Functionality
Extensive unit tests improved reliability and reduced the risk of bugs in future deployments.
Streamlined Task Management
Internal task tracking became structured and traceable with the new WPF app, improving team accountability.
Future-Ready Architecture
The use of modern .NET Core technologies and test-driven development lays the foundation for scaling and feature additions.